Hall of Fame looks to Tritt for big play

July 11, 2008|By ROBIN TOEPP Tribune Correspondent

The College Football Hall of Fame and the Morris Performing Arts Center this year have the Â?Best of IntentionsÂ? in partnering to provide the community live music as part of the annual Enshrinement Festival.

Country Music Association and Grammy Award-winning country artist Travis Tritt is this yearÂ?s featured entertainer Friday night, a switch from the small-scale live performances on the Gridiron Plaza that have featured such local and up-and-coming acts as Art & the Artichokes, Chantilly Lace and Blue County in past years.

Â?I think itÂ?s good for the city, and I think itÂ?s good for the College Football Hall of Fame,Â? Morris executive director Dennis Andres says. Â?I think things should move around once in a while; it brightens things up. We add something to it. ItÂ?s just different when you do things in theater and you use the Palais. It will add class to an already polished event.Â?

TrittÂ?s distinctive voice contains blues, Southern rock and classic country elements that have made hits of such songs as Â?ItÂ?s a Great Day to Be Alive,Â? Â?HereÂ?s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)Â? and Â?The Whiskey AinÂ?t WorkinÂ?,Â? a duet with Marty Stuart.

His most recent album, 2007Â?s Â?The Storm,Â? produced by Randy Jackson of Â?American Idol,Â? showcases his bluesy, Southern side.

Â?We are working to grow it into a national event,Â? Hall of Fame director of marketing Katie Berrettini says. Â?So much of the festival is not just the Hall of Fame. ItÂ?s really growing throughout the community, and this is an example of that. We are able to work with (AndresÂ?) staff at the Morris Performing Arts Center, and we are able to offer the community a top level artist, and we feel like itÂ?s a great change.Â?

The partnership is another in a succession of local organizations taking advantage of the timing of the festival to create a weeklong series of family-friendly events and entertainment in the community.

This weekend, for example, featured the Enshrinement Festival Queen Pageant, a softball tournament, a Flag Football challenge sponsored by the South Bend Regional Sports Commission, and the new ribs cook-off featuring free live music and a classic car show sponsored by the Studebaker National Museum.

The second weekend features the Tritt performance, the Enshrinement Festival Parade Â? featuring the newest class of Hall of Fame inductees, including Doug Flutie, Ahmad Rashad (formerly Bobby Moore) and Joe Paterno Â? a Youth Football Clinic, a Fan Fest, and the Enshrinement Dinner and Show, which moves this year to the Palais as part of the partnership with the Morris.

Â?The show (the actual enshrinement induction ceremony) has evolved from where it was 13 years ago,Â? Berrettini says. Â?It has gone from what we used to call the Enshrinement Banquet to what we now call the Enshrinement Dinner and Show because what we are trying to get to is a level of a Hollywood-style awards show.Â?

Although the Enshrinement dinner and induction ceremony will be taped and edited into a compilation show, broadcast rights have not yet been settled.

Â?The media attention makes a big difference. In the past, weÂ?ve had some big names come in to host, which helps lend that level of credibility to the show,Â? Berrettini says. Â?We just think itÂ?s a great direction for the entire festival. We have this really big vision for what this festival could become in the community. ItÂ?s already an event that both people from around the country and our local community can come and enjoy, but it has such potential to grow and become bigger over the years.Â?